American football stars took a knee in defiance of Donald Trump at Wembley today after he said sportsmen who ‘disrespect America’ should be ‘fired’.
Donald Trump had urged fans to boycott NFL games as way of making change ‘take place fast’.
He added: ‘NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S.’
Earlier he had stoked tensions by saying NFL players who protested during the national anthem should be fired by their team.
He was referring to a controversial string of protests started by player Colin Kaepernick last year when he sat or kneeled during the anthem to highlight the treatment of black Americans.
At a rally on Friday night the president said: ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bi*ch off the field right now… he is fired.’
Ravens players, along with Ray Lewis, take a knee during the national anthem at Wembley
Thousands of NFL fans make their way to Wembley for the match between Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens
NFL fans play in the streets prior to the match between the Jaguars and Ravens at Wembley
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement saying ‘divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect’.
The NFL Players’ Association said Trump had crossed a line by effectively telling players to just ‘shut up and play’.
Association president Eric Winston said Trump’s comments were ‘a slap in the face to the civil rights heroes of the past and present’.
Some NFL players have kneeled or raised a fist during the national anthem to protest against police brutality towards black people.
This has included high-profile players such as Colin Kaepernick, Michael Bennett and Marshawn Lynch.
Kaepernick, who remains unemployed despite leading a team to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2012 season, was the first to protest over perceived racial injustice and police brutality.
On Saturday night, the Oakland Athletics’ Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball player to kneel in protest during the national anthem.
Trump criticized some in the NFL on Friday night at a rally in Alabama, saying team owners should fire players for taking a knee during the national anthem
Trump’s comments drew sharp condemnation from some of the nation’s top athletes with basketball star LeBron James calling the president a ‘bum’.
James also released a video on Saturday, saying Mr Trump has tried to divide the country.
‘He’s now using sports as the platform to try to divide us,’ James said. ‘We all know how much sports brings us together… It’s not something I can be quiet about.’
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy went further, describing Trump as an ‘a**hole’.
Kaepernick’s mother, Teresa, also joined in the backlash, referencing Trump’s ‘son of a bi*ch’ comment and tweeting: ‘Guess that makes me a proud bi*ch!’
Trump started by announcing that NBA champion Stephen Curry, the two-time MVP for the Golden State Warriors, would not be welcome at the White House for the commemorative visit traditionally made by championship teams:
‘Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!’
Later Trump reiterated what he said at a rally in Alabama the previous night – that NFL players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired, and called on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to tell them to stand.
The Golden State Warriors said the team had clearly understood ‘that we are not invited’ to the White House but would visit Washington DC on its own ‘to celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion’.
John F Kennedy was the first president to host the NBA champions, when the Boston Celtics visited in January 1963. The visit became an annual occurrence under Ronald Reagan. Golden State visited Barack Obama after winning the title in 2015.
Separately, 2017 college basketball champions the North Carolina Tar Heels announced they, too, would not be going to the White House to celebrate their victory, despite being invited.